Today, a variety of keyboards are used in the personal computing (PC) space, including a desktop, an all-in-one laptop, an ultrabook, a tablet, a phone, and among other similar electronic devices, that may include on-screen keyboards and off-screen keyboards. FIG. 1 is an illustration of a conventional PC device 100 including a passive off-screen keyboard 102 and a contextual on-screen keyboard 104. Some of the known limitations of the off-screen keyboard 102 may include low visibility of key caps at particular views, high-power requirements, lack of tactile feedback, and non-ergonomic concerns.
Although new human computer interactions and increased sensor capabilities have been introduced, the off-screen keyboard 102 has not evolved to include interactive context and programmable methods. Moreover, the relevance and use of a compute form factor for an end-user may be increasingly driven by applications that leverage active and programmable interfaces. However, the off-screen keyboard 102 has not taken advantage of such applications and remains passive with a fixed function (i.e., non-programmable) interface.
The form factor of a device is a function of both technology and the envisioned context of the use of the device. The context of the use may extend to the tasks an end-user desires to perform, the physical environment and location of the device, and other devices that can populate the surrounding ecosystem. However, form factor limitations associated with the functionality of conventional keyboards is a usage barrier to a PC end-user. For example, the off-screen keyboard 102 may present an inconsistent user experience due to the various sizes in the space available for the keyboard layout. In particular, variations may exist in the number, placement, and pitch of the keys.